The Enemy Within

First the new layout is thanks to my blessed wife. It is apparently my Valentine's day gift and it couldn't be any more like me. I love you baby!!!

For all the Trekkies out there (not trekker that means something different and if you geeks would look at a dictionary you would know) this title is the title of the fourth episode of The Original Series (TOS). If you have not seen the episode it's about how we as humans have a good side of emotions and a bad side of emotions, and that we need both in order to survive. This fits in very well with my third area of character trouble, that of anger.

I get angry a lot and my fuse is very short. It hasn't always been like this, but it is right now and not only am I getting tired of getting angry so is my wife. The Bible never calls anger a sin, so what does it say about anger. Well the Old Testament is filled with stories about God or a servant of God getting angry about something or another. Like Moses leaving Pharaoh in anger in Exodus 11 over his unwillingness to "Let my people goooooooo." In Psalm 37 it directs us to cease from anger to avoid doing evil, or don't get angry because you will tend to sin. And Psalm 145:8 "The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy," this is repeated in 1 Corinthians 13:5 where it says charity (love) is not easily provoked.

So anger is not a sin but can cause one to sin and we as believers should not be easily angered. Also with out some part of us being bothered by things we wouldn't have drive, the desire to make things right to make things better. Think about it without some form of response to irritation weather emotional or physical, we would never grow as a individual, society, or race. And with too much drive unspeakable things can occur, 1940's Germany, Dar fur, or Idi Amin Dada.